Electric body appliance.



No. 7l0,429. Patented Oct. 7, 1902 P. J. COLLINS &. 1G. 7G. BULAND.

ELECTRIC BODY APPLIANCE.

(Application filed. Jan. 92, 1902.)

(No Model.)

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ELECTRIC BODY APPLIANCE.

(Application, filed Jan. 22, 1902.)

(lo Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT GEEIQE.

PATRICK J. COLLINS AND CHRISTOPHER G. BOLAND, OF SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

ELECTRIC BODY APPLIANCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 710,429, dated. October 7, 1902.

Application filed January 22, 1902. Serial No. 90,769. (No model.)

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Be it known that we, PATRICK J. COLLINS and CHRISTOPHER G. BOLAND, citizens of the United States, residing at Scranton, in the.

county of Lackawanna, State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Body Appliances,of which the following is a specification.

This in vention relates to appliances for the .from the batteries, a garment having suitable conducting portions and circuits leading thereto from the transformer through a minature distributirig-board, and devices for regulating the current.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a View showing the garment with the belt in position and the circuits. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of the belt, including the transformer, which is shown in section, and the circuits. Fig. 8 is a rear view ofthe upper portion of the garment.

Referring to the drawings, ((1 indicates a belt which is to be worn about the body and containing a connected series of batteries b. Connected between the ends of the belt is a box 0, containing a motor-generator d, a relay e, and an inductive resistance f. A circuit 1 leads from a terminal cell 2 of the battery by way of the relay 6 to the motor, thence to a ariable-resistance device 3, and to the other terminal cell a of the battery. The motor, as shown, is shunt-wound, but may be otherwise wound. The resistanceswitch 3 is arranged upon a suitable board 5, adapted to be inserted in the vestpocket or elsewhere on the clothing. A thermostat g is connected by a circuit (3 to a single cell of the battery and extends around the magnetcoil of the relay 6. This thermostat may be placed upon any part of the body, such as the feet, and when the temperature falls the thermostat closes the relay-circuit and draws the armature 7 into contact with the clip 8, thereby closiug the primary circuit of the motortransformer and starting it into action. A circuit 9,leading to a switch 10 upon the board 5, is connected to the motor-circuit l on opposite sides of the relay, so that the motor may be started into operation by moving the switch 10, so as to short-circuit the relay. The apparatus may thus be used with or without the thermostat. Upon the rear end of the motor-shaft is arranged an insulated ring 11, which is connected by a wire 12 to one segment of the commutator l3, and a wire 12 connects an opposite segment through the shaft to a metal disk 14 upon the opposite end of the shaft. A wire 15 leads from the insulated ring ll to a binding-post 16 upon a distributing-board 17. From a brush resting upon the disk or ring 1% a wire 18 leads to a coil 19 upon an iron core 20, and the opposite end of this coil is connected by a wire 21 to a condnoting-section 22, which is arranged in the back of the garment and extends along the spinal column. A coil 23 is wound upon the core 20, and a circuit 2% extends from this coil to the switchboard 5, said circuitincludingan adjustable resistance 25 upon the board.

It will be seen that when the motor-circuit is closed either by the thermostat. g or the switch 10 an alternating current will be generated in the transformer, which will be conducted through the sliding contacts upon the rings to the binding-post 1G and conducting-surface 22. The frequency of this current may be regulated by regulating the speed of the motor through the variable resistance 3, and its voltage and volume may be regulated independently of the frequency by varying the resistance 25, which is in the secondary circuit of the inductive resistance device f. The relay is placed in circuit in order that the transformer may be started by the passage of a small current through the thermostat. If the thermostat were inserted directly in the motor-circuit, its points of contact would soon be corroded and the device rendered inoperative by the comparatively large quantity of current which it would necessarily have to carry.

As shown in Fig. l, the garment; 71/ is provided with a number of disconnected conductingsurfaces h ]L2 71 &c., and '1'. "F L", the.

These are preferably formed by weaving into the garment fine wire or tinsel cord, which comes in contact with the body, and each. of these conducting-surfaces,with the exception of the surface 22, is connected by a fine insulated wire in a separate terminal pin upon the distributing-board 17. The pinsjj j &c.. are connected, respectively, to the pads h 71,2 7L3, &c., upon the right side of the body, while the pins 70 k 76 &c., are connected to the corresponding pads v," t i upon the left side of the body. A small hook 26, which is connected by a flexible wire 27'to the bindingpost 16, is adapted to hook over any one of the pins, and thus connect the wire 15, leading from the transformer, to any given pad or conducting-surface in the garment. Thus by connecting the hook to the pin j a current may be sent from the right shoulder through the body to the conducting-surface 22 on the spinal column, or by connecting the hook to pin It a current may be sent to the left ankle and thence through the body to the pad 22, and so on. In this way the current may be applied to stimulate any portion of the body, or when the patient is in normal condition the switch may be opened and the current shut off. One or more thermostats may be used, if desired, or the thermostat may be dispensed with. By operating the resistance device 3, which controls the speed of the motor, the frequency of the current may be changed to suit the patient, and by operating the resistance 25 the voltage and current may be varied without varying the frequency. The conducting-surfaces may be made separately and attached to the garment; but they are preferably woven into and form a part of the garment, and they may be differently located and connected. The distributing-pins and the regulating devices may be all arranged upon a single board, so as to be carried in one vest-pocket, instead of being on separate boards,as shown in the d rawings,the arrangement upon separate boards in the drawings being simply for the purpose of convenience and clearness in illustration. In the drawings also the circuits leading from the apparatus and the conductingsurfaces to the boards are shown diagrammatically; but it will be understood that in practice the various circuits leading from the garment and the transformer will be combined into a single cable, which may be brought out through the front of the clothing to the board.

Having described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

1. The combination with a belt and a suitable source of electricity carried thereby of a garment having a conducting-surface in the back thereof and conducting-surfaces in various other parts of the garment, a return-circuit leading from said back conducting-surface to one pole of the source of electricity and circuits, and a switching device arranged to connect the opposite pole with the other conducting-surfaces.

2. In an electric bodyappliauce a combination with a belt having a battery thereon of a motor-generator, circuits connecting said motorgenerator with the battery, a garment having conducting-surfaces thereon and circuits leading from the motor-generator to said surfaces.

3. The combination with a belt having batteries thereon of a m otor-generator carried by the belt, a garment having conducting-surfaces thereon, circuits leading from the generator to said surfaces, a relay arranged to close the motor-circuit and a thermostat arranged to operate the relay.

4. The combination with a belt having batteries thereon, and a motor-generator, carried by the belt and arranged to produce an alter hating current, of a garment having conducting-surfaces, circuits leading from the generator to said conducting-surfaces, means for varying the speed of the motor, and means for regulating the voltage of the alternating current.

In testimony whereof we afllx our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

PATRICK J. COLLINS. CHRISTOPHER G. BOLAND. Witnesses:

M. F. SANDO, HELEN G. HARTLEY. 

